Maple Knights MSK
by Ceillising
Summary: Fanfic based on the top 5, other historic figures such as Tiger and Suuushi, as well as random charaacters I inserted. This story takes place back to when I quit MS approximately in 2008 so new stuff such as Pirates are not included.
1. Episode 1 to 8

**Episode 1 Fangblade Enters the War**

Bera. Home of magicians and bowmen, thieves and warriors (and recently pirates too!). No matter how diverse the Maple world was, the mightiest of all was always one Dragon Knight, the strongest and the first to reach level 200. He is well known as the Dragon Knight Fangblade who lives with his beloved wife, the Ice Mage Starlightzz, the fifth in world rankings and the second woman to be among the Great Five (next to Novinha).

Bera has always lived peacefully. Until one day, their neighboring dimension, Scania, fell to darkness. Only the strong have been able to survive in Scania such as the mighty Dragon Knight Tiger and Night Lord Suuushi. Although Tiger and Suuushi were the strongest from their world and was equivalent in strength to the Great Five, the darkness was stronger than that. While Scania burned up, Tiger and Suuushi escaped to Bera to ask for help. And so, begins the story of how the Maple world almost vanished from existence…

Two teenage brothers from another dimension, Broa, decided to step into Bera for a little monster hunting. They heard that they can make better profit in Bera than in any other dimension and decided to take a shot at it. However, they were just your everyday citizens; hang out with friends, tease noobs, do quests, etc… A new town recently opened called Nautilus and the brothers decided to take a look.

"I hope it's a good training spot," one of them spoke. "Then we can watch noobs die at the same time." The other one laughed. But when they reached the area, the town's locations were too easy for them. It was filled with the simplest monsters that were capable of being destroyed by a simple poke. It was mainly a small harbor with many pirate ships. The majority of the people who had just arrived found it a nice place to take a swim at the same time. For two 4th job rank fighters (the highest rank), it looked like a children's playground.

"Ugh, let's get going," he groaned. They started their way back to other towns with harder monsters.

"Wait," the other said. "…did you see that?"

"See what?"

"Over there. There were just bubbles coming out from the corner of that ship."

"Yea there are a lot of fishes here, nothing abnormal."

"No, it wasn't the same…" They both stared at that corner for a while, but nothing happened. Finally they gave up and continued to walk back. Suddenly they both heard drips of water, but by the time they turned around there was already someone standing behind them with his flower sword pointed at their faces.

"You guys," he panted. He appeared to be out of breath. "You're Broians, aren't you?"

"Um, yea" one of them stumbled. "...You're…"

"Yae, it's Korwyn!" he gasped. They both quickly lowered their heads in respect. Korwyn was the leader of the Broa dimension and the third position among the Great Five.

"There's no time for that Broians," Korwyn responded. "Where does Lord Fangblade reside? I must speak to him immediately."

"We can show you, your majesty," Yae replied.

"Be swift, I will follow you." They quickly ran out of town towards Fangblade's mansion.

"Honey, something wrong," said Starlightzz. "Scania is gradually being sucked up and now Tiger and Suuushi are officially reported missing." She stared out their gigantic window in the hallway. The sunlight was so strong that she could not see half of the scenery. "You don't suppose that they are…" She didn't finish her statement.

"They're fine," Fangblade responded. "Our reinforcements there have not been defeated yet. Tiger and Suuushi are probably just secretly in hiding. It's the best for them now."

"Something's still not right…" Starlightzz felt as if there was something not only wrong with Scania, but with the rest of the dimensions in the Maple world. She had a feeling that other dimensions were in a much worse condition and that soon Bera would be destroyed along with them.

The doorbell rang. It was late in the afternoon and they had not expected anyone. Visitors were not allowed to come without an appointment scheduled ahead of time. Secretly, Starlightzz hoped that it was Tiger and Suuushi.

"Hirarii, please answer that," Fangblade spoke. Hirarii was one of Fangblade's knights. Fangblade had over seven knights, all who possessed a special ability that only the Great Five knew about. Only one had the true power capable of controlling fate. If their ability was at maximum, it would surpass the power of all the Great Five's combined. However, such power was nearly impossible according to scientific researches and if it ever existed, the possessor would most likely die instantly. Fortunately, none of Fangblade's knights knew or possessed the one great amount of power, yet. Fangblade on the other hand, believed that among his knights, Hirarii had the most potential for achieving that legend. Hirarii was not standing in the hallway with them. She suddenly appeared by his side.

"Yes, My Lord," she responded and bowed. Without future words, she disappeared and received the door within seconds.

Yae's brother, Ran, was a magician. He was able to teleport all three of them to the front gate of Fangblade's mansion within minutes. Normal people were not allowed to even step onto Fangblade's property. They both felt scared, but it was under Korwyn's command to stay. He thought they might be of some use later on.

A girl of about twenty years of age appeared at the gate. It happened so suddenly that Yae and Ran jumped and nearly tripped. She had long light purple hair and was fully equipped with black and lavender armor. Her mouth and nose was covered with a mask. She looked like a type of warrior, but her occupation was not obvious. She had a bow tied to her back, a pocket of the rarest throwing stars, a dagger, a shotgun, and a long sword.

"You must be Hirarii, the Third of the Celestial Knights," Korwyn stated. "Please, I need speak with Lord Fangblade immediately."

"Of course, your majesty," Hirarii quickly responded, but slow enough that it sounded calm and mature. She unlocked the gate and the three of them stepped inside the holy palace.

**Episode 2 The Celestial Knights**

"Your majesty," Hirarii spoke. "Why do you bring these citizens with you?" Yae and Ran turned stiff. They were just thinking about running away until Korwyn responded.

"I believe that they will be of some importance in the future," he stated. Hirarii looked back.

"A lvl148 Paladin and a lvl162 Ice/Lightning Arch Mage would be of some use to you, your majesty?" she asked. This time they both really wanted to make a run for it. How did she know everything about them by just looking for a few seconds? What did they know about what's going on anyways? There was a rumor that war was going on in other worlds but the public had never released any information regarding one. Many did not survive to bring evidence, but everyone assumed that it was not true from the very beginning.

"You must look beyond what's on the outside, Hirarii." She did not respond because they had arrived in the hallway where Fangblade and Starlightzz stood.

"Korwyn!" Starlightzz cried.

"What brings you here?" Fangblade asked bluntly.

"I'm afraid that Broa will soon be gone as well," Korwyn stated.

"Have you come for armies?" Fangblade asked.

"No, it's too late for that, and it might be too late for Scania as well. Bera is the only one left. We must protect it at all costs."

"We will deal with that, you must recover from the wound on your arm first." None of them had realized it before, not even Starlightzz. It was underneath his clothing but Fangblade could easily sense the smallest speck of dust on a window. Another young girl appeared by Fangblade's side and walked towards Korwyn.

"I can treat it, your majesty," she said.

"Thank you, Knight of Fourth, Heroine," Korwyn replied. She had short blue hair but it was so beautiful that it sparkled in the light with the rest of her sky blue armor and flowed with her soft, tender voice. Her occupation was also unknown; she carried the same weapons that Hirarii had. However, because she was able to heal, Yae and Ran assumed that she was a special Ice/Thunder Arch Mage, capable of healing. They had heard of such rare cases. Fangblade stared at them both.

"Hirarii, take his two servants to the courtyard," Fangblade sighed. "We cannot have any interference during our meeting."

_We aren't servants!_ they both thought, but who would dare talk back to the most powerful person in the world? She put her hand on their shoulder and they disappeared instantly into the courtyard. Thinking that these Celestial Knights were no different people from them, Yae talked back.

"Just take us back to Nautilus and you won't have to babysit us," he spoke.

"I cannot do that; it's under Lord Fangblade's orders," she responded briefly and sat down on a nearly rock. "And his majesty's too."

"We don't even want to be involved in whatever you guys are in!" Yae shouted. "We're not even servants!"

"Just stay put and you might be spared."

"Spared? By who, you? I've beaten a lot of noobs before."

"How dare you call me a noob." Hirarii's voice was still calm. She had no intention to fight worthless people. Yae gave up and paced in huge circles, thinking that neither of them will get out anytime soon. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

A couple of hours later, an explosion occurred hundreds of miles away from Fangblade's mansion. Only the Great Five in the conference room heard it, and a couple of Celestial Knights.

"What's wrong?" Heroine asked worriedly. Hirarii seemed startled.

"There's something…that exploded…" Hirarii paused. "I...don't know what…"

"Well, is it near?"

"No, it's pretty far; probably in El Nath."

"Well, then there's nothing to worry about," Heroine assured.

"It actually is," a voice called from behind. He had short light brown hair that glittered with his navy blue eyes. He was the Fifth Knight, Dolob.

"That's not a normal explosion," he continued. "We should check it out."

"Wasn't Loopedd going to El Nath this morning?" Heroine asked.

"He was actually," Dolob recalled. "He could be caught in the mess by now."

"Then let's go, we'll bring the servants too," she pointed out. Yae and Ran agreed happily, seeing it as a chance to run away even if it's all the way up in the snowy hills. They arrived instantly and saw half of the town demolished into simple twigs, darkening the fresh white snow. There was no sign of the source of the great explosion, or even life. They all got a bit worried.

"I'll go check the marketplace," Dolob volunteered.

"Then I'll check the exterior of the town with the servants," Hirarii responded. Heroine stayed in the central part of town to examine the damage more detail.

The brothers attempted many times to escape but Hirarii had eyes behind her head. They were not strong enough to use their skills to run away either.

"Do I have to put chains on both of you?" she asked.

"Just let us go, we don't want to be here anyways," Ran sighed.

"Maybe his majesty would consider releasing you if you helped us with this situation." Ran changed the subject.

"What are you anyways?" he asked.

"Huh?" Hirarii turned around, wondering what he was asking. Was he questioning her and the other's amazing powers?

"Well your friend is obviously a magician. What are you? A thief or a bowman…or a magician…or a warrior...or a pirate?" Ran made completely random guesses.

"I think she's a thief," Yae responded. "She has pretty good dexterity."

"Bowmen have good dexterity too," Ran corrected. They continued to argue their points. Hirarii figured that they were too busy chatting to think of another escape plan. She continued to search beyond the snowy trees and steep hills. Finally she sees something orange reflecting off the sunlight on one of the cliffs.

_Loopedd_, she thought. She swiftly jumped from rock to rock up the hill to get to where he was. Yae and Ran watched amazingly.

"See, only thieves can do that with their flash jump," Yae argued.

"Bowmens do that too to climb up trees and hide," Ran stated. When Hirarii brushed off the extra snow covering the rest of the object, it was indeed Loopedd, the Sixth Knight, slightly injured.

"What happened, Loopedd?" she asked.

"Hirarii?" he muttered. "I don't know, there was just a flash and…and then half the town was gone. There was this person standing there afterwards, unhurt. I couldn't see his face, or what was his occupation, but before I could attack him he knocked me unconscious somehow." Loopedd's right arm was slightly fractured, but it could be healed easily with Heroine's help.

"Go back to the mansion with Heroine. Dolob and I will check out what happened here," Hirarii smiled.

"Alright," he sighed, slowly getting up. "But you guys might need a little more help."

"We'll give a call if we need any." They turned around and walked back to town. Loopedd stared at Yae and Ran.

"Are these guys survivors?" he asked.

"No, just Korwyn's servants," Hirarii replied. Yae and Ran yelled at her statement, but they ignored them.

"Oh, he's here?"

"Something went wrong in Broa. This incident could be related to it too."

"I agree." Heroine brought Loopedd back to the mansion and Dolob, Hirarii, Yae, and Ran went deeper into El Nath to the dangerous Dead Mine, where zombies and other creatures from hell roamed freely. Soon there was no more winter, just burning hot layers of molten rock beneath their feet.

"While we're here, we should go kill a Zakum," Yae suggested.

"Right, we have a lot of strong people with us too," Ran agreed.

"Focus, what we're dealing with here is more than a million times stronger than a Zakum," Dolob sighed. "Those things are too easy anyways…" They both thought he was just bluffing. Zakum was the strongest monster in the world. How could anything be a million times harder?

It didn't take long before they realized that Dolob wasn't bluffing. They ran into an army of what appeared to be a million fireballs, but they were all pitch black. Yae and Ran attacked out of fear, but no damage was done. Instead, the fireballs merged into human beings that shot fire out of their body.

"It's no use, their bodies' just regenerate!" Yae yelled.

"My magic doesn't work on them either!" Ran replied with fear. "What are they?"  
"So it's true," Dolob stated. "The dark force is within Bera now."

"It's not that much," Hirarii observed as she reached for the bow on her back. Yae and Ran thought that was sarcasm. "We could kill off this group easily." Dolob agreed and took out a compact bow from his pocket. It automatically formed into a golden bow, three times bigger than what was normally sold in stores. As the fake humans approached, Dolob and Hirarii shot out a light arrow at the same time.

**Episode 3 The Great Five**

It only took them less than ten shots each to wipe out the army. Yae and Ran stood in a corner, avoiding the battlefield. They had to immediately report back to Fangblade of the incident. The repairs for El Nath had to wait. While leaving the Dead Mine, Hirarii spotted a jewel lying on the ground. It was sea blue and beautifully cut so that a million rays reflected among the perfect gem. The sterling silver chain that held it was broken.

_Could it be?_ She thought. She shoved it in her pocket quickly before the others noticed and caught up with their walking pace. Loopedd was healed and doing well when they arrived back. Dolob had reported what they encountered and Fangblade wasn't at the least shocked.

"It's about that time anyways," Fangblade sighed. "We'll just have to be aware of their actions before they occur." The rest of the Celestial Knights entered the conference room and listened to Fangblade and Korwyn. Broa and Scania were officially gone and they were depended on to protect Bera for it was the only dimension left in peace at that time. Yae and Ran were asked to help as well. Knowing that they would be award greatly, they accepted the terms and were given better armor and weapons. Still, they were not informed about who the Celestial Knights really were.

Days and weeks passed as each Knight constantly found small groups of dark forces at random locations. Although they were not knights, Yae and Ran had the same job and thanks to their special equipment, they were able to defeat the darkness. One day, Shynobi, the First Knight, encountered a usual strong force of darkness. He could barely hold it off but received help from a strong bystander. She took off her hood and revealed her face to him. Shynobi immediately bowed and ask her to come to see Fangblade.

"It is so good to see you, Suuushi," Fangblade said relieved.

"I didn't want to come straight to you, in case I was still being followed," she stated.

"What about Tiger?" Starlightzz asked.

"We went separately when we came to Bera, but I'm sure he's doing well. Curryishott should be here too."

Suuushi was right. The next day the Seventh Knight, Keturah, found him meditating inside a tree of the town of Ellinia. Curryishott, the second position, was needed with Fangblade to call in a meeting for the Great Five. Keturah had to ensure his safety and secrecy before he was willing to come out. Almost completed, the Second Knight, NeoJunker, sought to find the last member of the Great Five, Novinha of the fourth position. She was actually plotting strategies for defeating the darkness in the mountains of Perion when NeoJunker found her. Novinha willingly came to the palace.

The only person left was the mysterious Tiger who ruled the world before Fangblade's time. He had been missing for over a month since Suuushi had last seen him. Still, they were all determined that he was at good health. While the Great Five and Suuushi had their meeting for several days, the Celestial Knights continuously searched for Tiger.

Yae and Ran explored the Dungeon area for days. When they searched deep in Sleepywood, they encountered an extremely large force of darkness. The darkness itself was easy to destroy, but they never ended because someone there was manipulating the darkness at the same time. Ran used his ice magic to freeze him and then shock while Yae attacked with his shout ability, manipulating his sword's power by thousands. No damage was done and the two became worried. They still could not see the mysterious figure; however, they assumed that he was a thief because he too threw stars and had the dark sight ability of becoming invisible.

When they needed it most, help miraculously came crashing from the sky. The shiny fairfrozen spear pointed right towards the enemy's head, but he caught it before it had reached his skull. By the time the enemy looked up, he had already been blown away by his powerful kick. He reached for his fairfrozen.

"I didn't think it was you doing this all this time," he growled.

"Things are not what it seems, Your Honor," it laughed. "It's nice of you to finally come out and show yourself."

"Same to you, Salleem," he sneered. Salleem chuckled.

"I guess it's nice to know the face of the person who killed you. But first, dear cousin, why don't you show me your strength if you think you can defeat the darkness." Angered, he attacked directly at Salleem, but he defended it easily. Yae and Ran attempted to help him, but the two did not seem to notice their efforts. They continued in a series of offense and defense until Salleem completely wore him out. Salleem fatally stabbed him with his dagger in the abdominal area. He was unable to attack anymore and fell.

"And they called you the hero of Scania," Salleem spat. "Disgusting." He stole his fairfrozen and prepared to stab him right down the center of the heart. Suddenly the fairfrozen was knocked out of Salleem's hand. And arrow shot directly into the center of his cervical, but he did not feel anything. He was temporarily stunned with the gushing of blood rushing out of his skull. He yanked out the arrow and the wound slowly patched up. During that time someone had appeared in front of him with an evil glare.

**Episode 4 The Mysterious Power**

"I will protect His Honor," she sneered and forcefully kicked him into the woods. Salleem crashed and broke several trees. Meanwhile, Hirarii did her best to heal his injury.

"Well, if it isn't the Third Knight protecting the little weakling." Hirarii jumped, but didn't turn back. Salleem was faster than she thought.

"I thought you were gone for good," Hirarii growled.

"I was," Salleem joked. "But I came back to destroy the rest of you."

"LastBreath, Hydrange, AnhRau, and Mecate weren't enough for you?"

"They were simply appetizers," he laughed. They were great people who were just below the rank of the Great Five. They all died trying to defeat the darkness on their own.

"You are so sick!" Hirarii yelled and stabbed him again with her dagger from an angle that wasn't noticeable. Salleem didn't move, but was appeased. He slowly grabbed the handle of the dagger from her hands, pulled it out, and tossed it to the side. Fear rose in Hirarii.

"W..what the heck are you?" Hirarii cried.

"While pretty boy over there was busy becoming the ruler of the world and you were obeying that dog's orders, I became immortal," Salleem chuckled. "Don't worry I have no intention of hurting you for now, but _he_ has to go." He was still conscious but was still too injured to move.

"I won't let you touch His Honor!" she yelled.

"Then you just have to die with him."

"Hirarii, please get out of here," he whispered.

"No, Your Honor, I can't leave you to --"

"What happened to calling me Tiger?" he joked. Hirarii paused.

"You're much more than just Tiger now," she stated. "You're Tiger of Scania." Hirarii withdrew her long sword and pointed it at Salleem's throat.

"I can't believe you still want to fight even though you know I'm immortal," Salleem laughed.

"That has never stopped me from before," Hirarii glared.

"Face it, even a Celestial Knight, not even all the Great Fives could stop me." She didn't let him continue his moment of pride and slit his throat. Salleem, for the time, continued with physical attacks. His body was able to stretch freely into many shapes. Hirarii missed frequently but Salleem still didn't attack.

"You're capable of doing more than just waving your sword," Salleem stated. "Why don't you use the rest of your power?" Hirarii ignored him and continued to attack. While Salleem was entertained, he was caught off guard and Hirarii used a strong lightning energy to shock him from behind. He was temporarily paralyzed.

Not wanting to fight, Hirarii dropped a meso bomb next to him and ran away, picking up Tiger, Yae, and Ran at the same time. They teleported away out just before the bomb went off. They only landed in Kerning City, the second farthest town from Sleepywood. They still had a long way to go before reaching Fangblade's mansion, secretly hidden on another island. To avoid being seen, they snuck into a secret passageway away from the civilians of the city. Hirarii was too weak to teleport all of them any further. She healed Tiger's wound and then rested.

"I thought you were a bowman," Ran stated, breaking their long moments of recovering from panic. "How come you used your dagger and sword in the battle?"

"And don't forget, she could also teleport and heal," Yae added. "Only magicians can do that."

"I'm all of them," Hirarii gave up. She was too tired to care about them knowing. "I grew up as a bowman but became more adapted to swordsmanship and learned magic and thievery in my spare time."

"That's impossible," Rae responded. "You could only be one."

"That's for normal people like you," she sighed. "We all have this power, which is why Fangblade created the Knights union: for people like us."They were silent for a moment.

"That's enough of that," Hirarii continued. "We have to get back to My Lord…"

"No," Tiger objected. "You need to rest first."

"My health is not as important as…"

"Don't make me turn it into an order," he objected. Hirarii sighed and gave up.

"Yes, Your Honor…"

"I thought the Knights had more power than those below the Great Five," Yae asked.

"They do," Tiger replied. "But she likes to respect me and Suuushi for some reason."

"It's because both of you are my idols," Hirarii answered. "Without Suuushi I wouldn't have had the hope to become this strong, and without you I wouldn't have became a Hero." (top rank for warriors from the fighter chain.)

"If you love them so much, why did you follow Fangblade?" Ran asked. Hirarii paused for a few seconds before responding.

"Because I'm a Berian," she stated proudly. "Without Fangblade I wouldn't be able to protect my own dimension in the same effective way." To them it was a good reason and Tiger completely understood.

**Episode 5 The Decision**

The next morning, before the sun had rose, they returned to Fangblade's mansion where they greeted Tiger openly. Fangblade and Tiger had a secret meeting about who the person behind all of this was. Salleem was indeed Tiger's cousin. At a young age, they both sought to become the strongest and the best. Salleem, however, was not as successful as Tiger and didn't accomplish his dreams. Instead, he turned towards the other direction to get what he wanted. Salleem gave up his soul for the power and the rest of the world thought he died anonymously.

Salleem was close to Hirarii too. She helped him try again and again when they were just kids, but Salleem felt jealous of how fast Hirarii was able to learn and left. Now Salleem is enemies with both of the people who cared so much for him, and he feels no pity at all.

Tiger was your casual young teenager who was good-humored, strong, and powerful with his words. He simply did not want the fame or wealth for being famous and strong, but he wanted the power to protect the people in need. Tiger and Salleem had an agreement that they would both be strong to strive for what they want. Now, he couldn't believe that Salleem had turned against him. Does he really need to kill him?

Fangblade had instructed him to do so.

"It's the only thing we can do, Tiger," he stated. "Even if we could stop him without being murderers, the laws state that he will need to be executed for all his sins. He has killed too many, and he tried to kill you too." Tiger completed agreed, but how were they supposed to kill an immortal? Would all of the Great Five and Celestial Knights be enough to stop Salleem?

"Of course he deserves it," NeoJunker stated. "Why should he be treated different from any other criminal?" He was chilling under a tall, shady tree, talking to the other Knights.

"I knew Salleem before," Keturah rejected. "He wouldn't do stuff like this. Perhaps he's just being controlled or consumed within his own despair. For what purpose do we have for doing something so extreme to him?"

"He's dead, Keturah," Shynobi sighed. "He has no feelings, no emotions, no heart. If we send him to heaven or hell, wherever he belongs, he'll finally be at peace and so will we, end of story."

"That just leaves the big issue," Loopedd continued. "How do we kill an immortal?"

"You're a Celestial Knight aren't you?" Shynobi asked sarcastically.

"How can you be so confident that our powers are enough to stop him?" Loopedd yelled. "We're not miracles!"

"Because that's all we have, just suck it up." That was the truth. The rest had no opinions or did not want to get involved with their dispute. As the First Knight, Shynobi was stern and seemingly fearless. None of them wanted to argue with him so they silenced.

Once again, they headed out to search areas that seemed to be in danger. Yae and Ran explored Heneseys, a tiny active town with a huge population, but eventually slacked off in their job.

"Ran, why are we doing this again?" Yae asked.

"Because we're getting good pay and equips to do this simple task," Ran stated.

"We're under Fangblade now," he pointed out. "This can't be an easy job." He scanned the rest of the crowd around them. Everyone was so happy talking to each other or exchanging goods.

"You're right," Ran admitted. "If we fail this job then everyone here will die, even us, and so will Fangblade and the rest of the world. We could go back to the days where we just do quests for people and fight monsters and sell items and do it all over again the next day, or we could do this. I think taking a little more adventure in life doesn't hurt. After all, we won't get an opportunity like this ever again."

"What about our friends?" Yae objected. "We're leaving them all behind too."

"But only for their protection," Ran smiled. "And when all of this is over, we'll be welcomed back as heroes." On that day, Yae and Ran made final visits to their friends and family, and wrote letters and sent packages to those who were too far away. They simply told them that they were going on a huge journey and nothing else. The sun was setting that evening and Keturah had passed by to take them back to the palace.

"I know it's hard leaving all this behind," she smiled. "But in the end you'll be happy you made this decision, I guarantee it. Nothing's better than fighting for your country."

Shynobi and NeoJunker spent their day trying to pinpoint Salleem's location. He was finally discovered by dusk.

"We attack tomorrow," Shynobi stated. "Right before sunrise at Mu Lung."

"Does Fangblade know about this?" Dolob asked. Shynobi avoided the question.

"The sooner the better," he replied bluntly and left for his room.

"We can't do this," Loopedd argued. "Going without His Lord's orders is just asking for death."

"Well, either follow Fangblade, or follow Shynobi," NeoJunker responded with a sigh. "He's going to go even if none of us follows him."  
"Stubborn fool," Dolob muttered. The decision rested within each individual, most unable to choose. Everyone left for their rooms without a word after that. The girls were walking down the hallway of their wing.

"Good night, Keturah," Hirarii and Heroine blessed. As soon as she shut the door Heroine raised the question.

"What will you do, Hirarii?" she whispered.

"I cannot disobey My Lord," Hirarii stated. "Shynobi can go die if he wants to. What about you?"

"I don't know," she said slowly. "I too agree with you Hirarii that we should not disobey our master's orders, but we cannot abandon our comrades either."

"We don't even have any camaraderie with Shynobi."

"But Hirari," Heroine argued. Then she paused for a moment. Hirarii looked at her until she continued her sentence. "A lot of people are going to die tomorrow, I can feel it. Tonight will be the last day when all seven Celestial Knights exist."

**Episode 6 A Split Road**

Before a streak of light appeared in the sky, four Knights emerged towards the center of the courtyard.

"I hope this is good enough," Shynobi sighed. Then he leaded them secretively out of the palace towards Mu Lung. The time in Mu Lung was later than at Fangblade's mansion. They were able to reach there a few minutes before the sun slowly came out. It was not hard to find Salleem; he was waiting for them all along.

"Idiots," Dolob yelled. He released his anger on the table where they had breakfast. The utensils slightly flew in the air and returned back to its position with a small clang.

"Shynobi, NeoJunker, Heroine, and Keturah," Loopedd stated. "I wonder if they're still alive by now." It was approximately 8:45am, two hours past sunrise. Before they were able to walk out from the dining room after eating, Novinha appeared by the doors. They quickly knelt.

"Where are the rest of the Knights?" she asked sternly.

"They left early to go search Ossyria Island," Dolob lied quickly.

"You dare lie to me?" Novinha beamed. None of them responded. "This morning I saw your little friends out in the courtyard all suited up, sneaking out of the palace. Now tell me where they went." Novinha was about to raise her voice again until Starlightzz walked in.

"Relax Novinha," she assured her. "Just tell us, is it something bad?" They all nodded. "Then I will notify Fangblade." Novinha and Starlightzz walked out without another word.

"What do we do now?" Dolob asked.

"Wait to see if His Lord will bother saving their sorry asses," Loopedd sighed. They decided to walk towards Fangblade's office to await their order, or punishment.

"Why did you let them go?" Fangblade asked sternly.

"There was no way of convincing Shynobi out of it, My Lord," Loopedd responded. Fangblade sighed, knowing that Shynobi had always held a sense of authority. If he were to send the rest of his Knights to the battlefield, he could lose them all, or he could discard half of them and it would still leave them with the same helpless fate. Fangblade dismissed the Knights until he figured out his decision.

The Knights chilled around the palace on their own, wondering if there really was anything that could have been done to save all four. Hirarii was casually walking down the hall when she spotted Tiger coming in the opposite direction.

"Your Honor," she bowed.

"Please stop doing that Hirarii," Tiger sighed. Hirarii ignored his comment. "Listen, I need to ask you for a big favor."

"Anything sir," Hirarii responded.

"Bring them back here," Tiger commanded. "They're not capable of fighting Salleem on their own. Hirarii, you could hold off Salleem long enough to help everyone escape. Don't let the fight continue, just bring them all back here first and we'll worry about the rest later."

"Yes, Your Honor," Hirarii shouted and quickly ran off without looking back at his face.

"Hey, be careful!" Tiger shouted back. On the way out the palace, Hirarii dragged along Dolob and Loppedd who accepted the task only because it was under the request of Tiger. They arrived within moments and Mu Lung looked like a mess. They barely recognized the ancient Asian city because more than half of the entire city was demolished. The rest of the city was either on fire or almost completely destroyed. Not very far were the four Knights fighting against the propitiated Salleem.

The Knights used their full potential by attack with all four weapons: the sword, throwing stars, magic, and arrows. Only a few hit Salleem and all had no effect. The four Knights appeared to be worn out already, but still strived to defeat him. Some held minor injuries.

Hirarii, Dolob, and Loopedd ran into the battlefield and did their best to drag the rest of the Knights away from the fight. Dolob took on a temporary solo against Salleem while Hirarii and Salleem swiftly pulled the Knights out.

"I refuse to go," Shynobi shouted stubbornly.

"C'mon man!" Loopedd yelled. "You can do this another day! Let's go!" But Shynobi only ran back towards Salleem. They were able to drag the girls out easily who seemed to willingly go back home.

"He's indestructible," Heroine panted. "It's impossible to even make him feel pain." Meanwhile, Shynobi pushed aside Dolob and fought with NeoJunker against Saleem.

"Dolob, just take the girls and go," Hirarii commanded. "We'll get those two." Loopedd had already rushed into the battlefield. Eventually, Salleem had stop resisting fighting and attacked intentionally. He fatally injured NeoJunker in the waist and Shynobi on his right arm. Hirarii took the closest person, Shynobi, away from Salleem while Loopedd distracted him.

Salleem unleashed a surprise attack from behind and stabbed him with his dagger. Loopedd fell and didn't move afterwards. NeoJunker sought to use that time as an advantage to attack him. However, his speed was slowed due to his injury and Salleem inserted another wound before he had the chance to reach him. Hirarii immediately ran back and clashed his dagger with her sword so hard that it fell out of his hand and was stuck to the roof of a building far away. Hirarii had chopped his hand in the process but it grew back quickly.

"I have to help them!" Heroine screamed and teleported towards NeoJunker and Loopedd. She was too fast for Dolob to catch, so he just secured Keturah and Shynobi from running back too. Heroine first went to cure Loopedd, but he was bleeding so much she was afraid it couldn't be helped. By the time she finished half her work, she realized that Loopedd was already dead. Without hesitation, she swiftly went to NeoJunker and healed his wound one at a time.

Salleem and Hirarii continued their battle in the distance. In an instant, Salleem twirled his throwing stars around his fingers and threw them at Hirarii, nailing her to the nearest standing building before his hand could regenerate. Hirarii's two arms and left leg were pinned against the wall and she could barely move.

"Heroine behind you!" Hirarii yelled. Heroine turned around to see Salleem charging at her direction. She held onto NeoJunker tightly and transported them to another area nearby, but Salleem was already at the spot she moved to.

_Impossible_, Heroine thought. She defensively created an invisible barrier but Salleem broke through it easily. Heroine gently laid NeoJunker on the ground. With that time lag given by the barrier, she gathered the rest of her energy and directed a gigantic lightning rod directly at Salleen's chest. The lightning rod pierced through Salleem effectively, and Heroine was pleased. Salleem couldn't move, but neither could she.

His arm was transformed into a sharp spear that went completely through Heroine's stomach. She didn't notice it before, but she just smiled and closed her eyes. They both fell back and didn't move.

"Heroine!" Keturah screamed. "Let me go, we need to help her!" Dolob didn't let her go and restrained her arms tightly. Dolob wanted to charge in there too, but that's just like walking into death. Besides, Salleem was idol and it was the best time to flee. Shynobi thought of the same thing and disappeared to help unpin Hirarii.

"Let's go back," Shynobi whispered after releasing her. "It's over."

"No," Hirarii cried softly. She looked up to see the four lifeless bodies in the middle of the burnt city. "He's not dead yet."

"I know, but we have to go now." Just then, Salleem slowly rose from the ground. Fear rose in Shynobi and he quickly grabbed Hirarii's arm and ran. Hirarii resisted and disappeared from his side in an instant. Shynobi looked back and she was gone. Then he turned towards Salleem and Hirarii was there with her sword through Salleem's stomach again.

"You killed them," Hirarii growled.

"We all die eventually, dear," Salleem chuckled. Hirarii responded by shoving a giant energy of ice through him with her other hand. His body froze up to his chest.

"So you're the chosen one," Salleem responded, amused. "No one else can inflict as much pain as you do. But still, it's not enough. You're too weak to unleash its full power." Hirarii went in flames and consumed his body in light, then exploded.

Shynobi ran into the dense smoke and retrieved Hirarii who was lying unconscious with Salleem nowhere to be found. Shynobi saw a few body pieces lying around, but he figured that it was nothing to Salleem to lose a few parts. As he carried Hirarii on his back, he quickly picked up Heroine, NeoJunker, and Loopedd and ran out where Keturah immediately teleported them out and onto the doorsteps of Fangblade's mansion.

**Episode 7 Is it a Miracle?**

"I am to be held full responsible for this, My Lord," Shynobi admitted.

"Your stubborn actions had cost the life of your own comrades," Fangblade roared. "Nothing can replace a soul, Shynobi." Hirarii had remained unconscious for a few days. Once she woke up, they had the funeral. Their bodies were buried in the center of the courtyard and they didn't allow the public to broadcast the event. A few friends of theirs were allowed to show up. They wept endlessly as tears fell down onto the soil of their grave.

"It's all your fault," Hirarii growled under her breath once the ceremony was over.

"I know, I already got my yelling for it," Shynobi sighed.

"Half of us are gone now!" Dolob yelled. "NeoJunker only went because he didn't want you to go by yourself. He didn't want his best friend to go out there alone. Heroine didn't want to abandon her teammates, plus she had the feeling that a lot of people were going to die and she thought she was the only person who could prevent that. And Loopedd, he didn't even want to go in the first place! They all sold their life to protect you two, all three of them!" Dolob glared stiffly at Shynobi and Keturah. They had nothing to say and lowered their heads.

"It doesn't matter who's at fault," Yae interrupted. "We just have to deal with the future."

"Easy for you to say," Dolob spat. "You didn't see their blood spilling everywhere." Nobody talked to each other for many days and Salleem remained idol and unknown.

"Are we even capable in fighting with so few Knights now?" Korwyn sighed. The Great Five were having a private meeting on a sunny afternoon. "In addition, it appears that they are refraining from talking to one another."

"They have us," Curryishott stated. "We cannot lose hope now."

"If he's capable of killing Knights, then some of us will fall too," Novinha argued.

"But Hirarii," Starlightzz added. "She nearly defeated him by herself. If she can do the same damage on him again and if we join in, he'll be gone for good."

"There's more to it than that, Starlightzz," Novinha replied. "Hirarii has a unique ability, I could tell from her sword techniques. It is true that the power is able to kill even an immortal. The amount of energy she inflicted was seemingly small, but it was already too powerful for the possessor. If Hirarii could possibly inflict any more damage, she would most likely die." Secretly, Fangblade knew she was capable of releasing more power. They called in Hirarii to further discuss the issue.

"It is not under my control," she admitted. "Something like that may never occur again; it is best to not assume that miracles will happen."

"It is not a miracle, Hirarii," Fangblade replied. "This power had always been with you since you were born. You will learn to control it by the time our next battle comes." With that said, the meeting concluded. Fangblade recruited Hirarii when she was nine. He would be the only person who knew her the best and what she was capable of.

The other Knights knew nothing about the special power. They had assumed that what Hirarii had done was just another basic meso bomb. Hirarii could not unleash that power again for days and remained hopeless.

"What are you trying to do?" Dolob asked, seeing her try so hard to do something with a giant rock by just putting one hand on it.

"The impossible," Hirarii sighed. "I'm trying to make miracles."

"Like the one with Salleem?"

"Yea."

"Well, what did you think of at that time? How did you feel?"

"I was barely mobile at that time," she admitted. "I just thought, I want to kill this guy so badly, and then it happened." She tried to imagine the same thing about the rock. Rays of light glowed brightly all over the rock internally, and then exploded into millions of gravel.

"It's not the same," Hirarii sighed. "His Lord is asking me to do the impossible and I can't!"

"Then don't," Dolob shrugged. "Just do what you normally do and hope for the best. You can't blame yourself for not trying." He walked away casually. Hirarii watched him leave and slumped on the ground for several minutes.

"Do you really know who you are?" Tiger asked, appearing out of nowhere. Hirarii sighed.

"No, not really Your Honor," she replied. "Am I more than just a Celestial Knight?"

"You are," he stated. "Fangblade wasn't sarcastic when he said you were born with it." He sat down next to her. "The power you have is not something that can be discovered by anything except when it's in use. That's why not even you know what it is."

"You seem to know more than I do," Hirarii observed.

"I do, because the Great Five and some of whom are at high rankings knew about it for centuries. What you have is more than just the power of God, you have fate in your hands too. It's so powerful that the power may consume the possessor itself and --"

"Destroy them," Hirarii continued. "I don't care if I die as long as Salleem leaves with me, but I still don't know how to unleash it."

"Fangblade knows that it's not something that can be done on purpose."

"Then why did –"

"He simply meant to tell you to use your heart to guide yourself towards that direction." Hirarii felt like an idiot for not realizing that before. Fangblade was always sarcastic from time to time but it was always hard to tell if he was because he always wore a mask.

"And I'll give you all my support to stop this guy," Tiger continued. He reached for the necklace down his shirt and showed it to Hirarii.

"Oh that," she said shocked. "I think I found one at the Dead Mine the other day." She reached for her pocket and retrieved it.

"Oh, so that's where I dropped it." Tiger observed the shiny blue jewel. "Now it's complete; you have both mine and yours." He tied a tough knot on the broken chain and looped both of them around Hirarii's neck. They were rare stones that they both found in the Cold Mine many years ago. Instead of selling them, they made it into necklaces and engraved their names on it. Hirarii gave hers to Tiger before he had left for Scania.

"It really brings back memories," Hirarii smiled.

"And isn't it worth fighting for?" Tiger asked. Hirarii nodded. It always is.

**Episode 8 A Love Story**

The final battle was set on the day after tomorrow for all the Knights, Great Five, and anyone else strong enough that were willing to participate. The Celestial Knights spent their last day enjoying every last breath of air. There was one Knight who still couldn't shake off the past, Dolob.

"Please, just suck it in," Shynobi sighed. Dolob refused to open his bedroom door to see his face. Shynobi still did his best to promote him to be on his best the next day.

"Just leave me alone," Dolob answered. "Don't worry, I'll show up tomorrow. It's the only reason I have left to live anyways." Shynobi did give up trying to make him see the bright side again. He left to take a stroll in the courtyard where Keturah and Hirarii were happily chatting.

"He's still depressed?" Hirarii asked.

"I've tried for half an hour already," Shynobi sighed and sat on a flat stone chair. "I did my best."

"It's because of Heroine," Keturah started softly. She wasn't sure if they knew before. "He lost his love and with it, all the reason to fight." Realization lit within Shynobi and Hirarii. That would explain why Dolob was more depressed than everyone else.

"I just assumed," Keturah continued. "Because he was always smiling when he was around Heroine. They were actually very close."

"I was," a voice answered. They turned around and saw Dolob slowly walking towards them from the shaded area.

"I'm sorry," Shynobi understood. "I didn't know…" Dolob didn't respond and sat next to him.

"That morning when I found out that she left, I couldn't understand why," Dolob continued. "I was so angry that I didn't bother to think that it would hurt this bad to lose someone you love. I did ask her out before, but she never gave me a response. Then that day when we were clearing out their rooms, I found her diary shoved to the side of her shelf. The last entry was the night before they left. She said that she had to go to protect those who were going out there. Then she concluded that if she lived to see the next sunrise, she would pray for her life and the well-being of everyone else, but stated that if she closed her eyes before then, than 'I want to pray for the world: for Bera, for My Lord, for the Knights, and for my beloved Dolob." He unfolded the ripped diary page from his pocket and showed it to Shynobi.

"If she didn't die, then she would've been my girlfriend," Dolob choked out from under his tight throat. "And Keturah, you would've lived a happy life with NeoJunker. That one battle changed all of our lives so much. I just wasn't able to let it go as easily as the rest of you." Keturah slowly nodded. When she lowered her head, tears flew out of her eyes.

"Me and NeoJunker, we were ready to die for each other," Keturah admitted. They had been together for almost two years. Secretly, NeoJunker was already ready to ask Keturah for marriage. Nobody knew about that, not even his best friend, Shynobi. He did find a beautiful silver swan ring hidden deep in NeoJunker's drawer, but Shynobi never spoke of it and simply hid it somewhere else. Keturah never found out about the marriage or the ring.

"But we promised to fight for one another if the worst happened," Keturah continued. "And Dolob, you should do the same. Heroine would've wanted you to move on too." He nodded.

"And so would've Loopedd," Dolob added. "Even though he never told you how he felt, Hirarii."

"Me?" Hirarii blinked. This was a new fact for everyone.

"I know, I wouldn't have guessed it myself," Dolob chuckled. "He told me he had a thing for you from the very beginning, ever since he moved in here and you were the first one to make him feel at home. He thought you were too absorbed into your job with obeying His Lord to care about relationships. Plus, you are the Knight of Three and he's the Knight of Six. He thought it would've been awkward to ask a higher knight."

"That's just ridiculous!" Hirarii objected. "Why would rank have to do with anything?" Then Hirarii quickly silenced without anymore to say. Knights were only ranked depending on their order of arrival. The higher the number did not necessarily mean that the knight was stronger. However, more respect towards the higher knight began to drift towards a tradition.

"I…just wish he told me," Hirarii mumbled. Hirarii thought about the time when she found Loopedd in El Nath unconscious and when he watched her back during the battle with Salleem. That was the last time she was with him. Loopedd used his last moments not to just defend everyone else, but especially Hirarii. It was definitely not obvious that he liked her, but it seemed possible. Hirarii felt even worse since she could not return his feelings. Even if he was alive, she still loved someone else; someone she could never tell to anyone.

"We never lost them though," Shynobi assured, putting him in the conversation since he was not paired with anyone or even in a relationship. "They're still here, fighting with us, and will always be." After those many confessions, everyone felt better and looked forward to tomorrow's battle. They took one last visit to their comrades' grave and memorial spot before leaving the courtyard.

NeoJunker, Heroine, and Loopedd all smiled at their sight. Some hugged while some gave kisses. But the most unforgettable memory was hearing their laugher carry on with the gentle touches of the wind. They had never left them.


	2. Episode 9 to 13

**Episode 9 Final Battle part 1**

The next morning, everyone was properly suited up before meeting each other in the main hallway. One by one, they slowly emerged by the door. The Celestial Knights were the ones who were truly amazed because they had never seen the Great Five dressed in their full armor. Nothing in the galaxy could have shined more brightly than the five. It made the knights feel more inferior than ever before. Yae and Ran were also invited. They had grown a lot stronger since they first arrived and were planning to test out their skill in the final battle.

Their plan was quite simple. Fangblade had divided everyone among four groups based on their best skill. The first group consisted of Suuushi, Hirarii, Dolob, and Ran. They would be the group to advance Salleem directly and attack. Once they began the fight, the next team, Tiger, Shynobi, Keturah, and Yae would jump in when help was necessary. The last two groups were the Great Five split between Novinha and Starlightzz and Fangblade, Curryishott, and Korwyn. They were standby and were to only enter the fight when the worst came. They did not want Salleem to know that they were present.

This time Salleem was hidden in the Dead Mine, where Hirarii, Heroine, Dolob, and Loopedd first found him. Salleem didn't change. He was, as usual, casually leaning against the wall staring at nothing. He had no expression on his face when he saw the first group approach him.

"Salleem," Hirarii began. "It's not too late to stop what you're doing."

"Oh Hirarii," Salleem sighed. He rolled his eyes and began to walk towards her. "You always think that there's an alternative way to everything." He was so close to her that Hirarii could feel his breath. Hirarii didn't move.

"You're my friend, Salleem," she whispered and slowly touched his face. Salleem twitched a little from her warm and soft hand. "I'll do anything to save you." For a moment, Salleem was deeply touched. He still remembered their childhood times together, but his bad memories eventually overpowered them.

"Silly girl, you're the one who will need to be saved," Salleem chuckled. He gently removed her hand from his cheek, then turned around and did a backdrop unexpectedly.

"Hirarii!" Ran called. He and the rest of the group were ready to attack after that cheap move.

"No, stay back!" Hirarii yelled. She was still lying on the ground with Salleem on top. He had dug his knee into her stomach but Hirarii still didn't fight back.

"The Salleem you know will never come back Hirarii," he continued in a sympathetic tone. "I'm dead. Even if you manage to defeat me, my soul is still gone."

"I know," Hirarii choked from the small amount of air that was being produced from her crushed lungs. "But I want to send you to heaven where you can forever be at peace, instead of being possessed by darkness. Salleem, even if you are already dead, I want you to be happy. Isn't that what any friend would want?"

"Shut up!" Salleem yelled and dug his knee deeper, now crushing Hirarii's organs. Blood began to leak from her mouth. "You don't know what I want. You don't know ANYTHING about me. You've been gone for over thirteen years, how would you know what's best for me?"

"At least she knows enough that you need some major help," Suuushi growled. She had her hand tightly gripped to his shoulder. Salleem didn't notice that she was standing there.

"I think that's enough," Suuushi continued. "She was the only one out of all of us who were willing to give you a chance. You've lost all sympathy given to you now."

"I don't need any of your pathetic sympathy," Salleem spat. An arrow whirled swiftly in the air and pierced through Salleem's rib cage.

"I think there's no point holding back now," Dolob joked.

"There never was a point," Salleem sighed and observed the wound. "That was a cheap move." Something sharp ran through Salleem's skull afterwards. There was a huge hole in his head bleeding rapidly. Suuushi had thrown a kunai right through his brain.

"There aren't any rules in fighting," Suuushi stated. Salleem just glared and quickly lashed out his ice ibis stars. Suuushi had already disappeared from the scene and reappeared behind him before the stars could even hit the wall. She generated a giant energized throwing star and forced it into Salleem's body. Ran quickly shocked him so that his body became paralyzed. Then, he concealed him within a giant block of ice. Hirarii took the last blow and cleanly sliced the ice into many pieces with her Raven's Wing sword. Salleem's body was now tightly concealed in many places. It was a gruesome sight, but it was the best combination to ensure one's death. His heart had been taken away by Dolob's arrow and his brain by Suuushi's kunai. He couldn't have moved because Ran had paralyzed him and was then frozen on top of that. Lastly, how can any organism function with all those injures and can also stand being sliced into pieces?

This one could. Salleem moved like slimy, thick tar, quickly dripping himself out of the frozen prison and attacking the four at the same time. Their hands and feet were attacked by the slimy substance and glued towards the wall or ground. Salleem reassembled himself swiftly without struggle. His hand transformed into a sharp blade and targeted at Hirarii first. None of them could move.

Green smog began to fill the area as the second group began to enter the fight. Shynobi and Yae worked to drag Salleem away from the others and towards the boiling lava. Keturah solo him from that point since she was able to manipulate the burning fire. She also temporarily had the advantage since the smog still blurred his vision. Meanwhile, Tiger freed Ran first so that he could easily freeze the slime restraining the others. The ice was easy to break and the slime was lifeless afterwards. Hirarii was the first to free herself and joined the battle. They moved onto their next combo attack as Keturah backed away. Tiger, Hirarii, and Yae, all being different types of warriors, stabbed Salleem with their most powerful skill through his frontal, transverse, and sagittal plane. All piercings should have left his whole body immobile.

It was definitely more effective than the last move. Salleem couldn't move any better than a stick figure, but with his undamaged hand, he carefully twisted his wrist pulled the sword out from under his arm that had pierced through his heart to his other arm. The rest were easier to remove.

"If that didn't work, I don't know what can," Yae stared. Tiger was also slightly shocked but did not show it. The rest circled Salleem with their next attack fully charged, waiting for his next move. They had a lot of other attack combinations ready to be tested, but would any of them be effective? Everyone had their doubts, but kept it hidden away, only focusing on the future of the world.

If an immortal could not be killed by destroying their whole body system, then what could?

**Episode 10 Final Battle part 2**

The battle continued with much effort. Some gained injuries, but none so severe that they had to be pulled out of the battlefield. The Great Five watched in the distance with tension, observing Salleem's battle strategies while hoping to find a gap to attack him effectively.

"He's a thief," Novinha stated. "But has no definite weapon."

"His definite weapon is himself," Korwyn objected. 'But notice how he uses nothing for defense. He would just let himself suffer the injury and regenerate afterwards."

"Perhaps the best time to attack is during that regeneration period," Starlightzz recommended. "But even if we split his body into billions of atoms, he'll still regenerate."

"That's why we have the split the atom itself," Curryishott added. "When atoms split, they explode and therefore cannot regenerate."

"So all we're missing is a really accurate laser beam," Korywn said sarcastically.

"Or," Fangblade paused. "A really powerful laser beam…" They weren't sure exactly what Fangblade was implying. He then turned on the sound on his earphone.

They were running out of battle strategies. No combination of attacks seemed to work on Salleem because he was so malleable and came back to life no matter what. The Knights began to intercept Fangblade's call through their small earphones.

"Celestial Knights," Fangblade began. "You need to use all of your power at maximum strength. I think it is time that you all use _that_ strategy." The knights were stunned.

"My Lord," Shynobi objected. "No knight has ever survived after using that move."

"Take a look, Shynobi. All of you specialize in a different occupation. The effect would be stronger and because it's equivalent and the aftershock will be less for all of you." The strategy that Fangblade had suggested was forbidden. It required all of the knights to use their full potential to gather every ability into one hit, a move only a knight could project because they carried the power to unleash the effects of a thief, warrior, bowman, and magician. In conclusion, everyone had to project a strong force similar to the one Hirarii used in the previous battle, except that one was not the same. There were only three previous knights that were capable of unleashing that vast amount of power: VietxHue, Mecate and Hydrange. VietxHue had used it on a previous national rival but was so exhausted afterwards that he died hours after. Mecate had used it on Salleem a few months ago after he had taken the lives of AnhRau and LastBreath, and died instantly. Hydrange at that time was sent to Scania to protect Tiger and Suuushi. While they escaped to Bera, Hydrange went face to face with Salleem with one final blow.

Regardless of the past honorable knights, Shynobi, Hirarii, Dolob, and Keturah were going to do it under Fangblade's orders, but they all had a little fear inside. Shynobi let out a huge sigh. Tiger, Suuushi, Yae, and Ran were a bit confused about what they were planning. Shynobi commanded them to take the first hit on Salleem and then immediately step back.

"Alright, let's do it," he said. Everyone else too took a deep breath.

"For my dear NeoJunker," Keturah sighed.

"Heroine…and Loopedd too," Dolob added.

"For His Lord," Hirarii continued.

"For Bera," Shynobi concluded and nonchalantly took out a single ibis star. Hirarii slowly lifted her sword directly above her head. Dolob pulled back the string of his bow while Keturah held her wand close to her heart. Yae and Ran attacked first, injuring Sallem to throw him off balance. Then, Tiger and Suuushi made sure that he had exploded into plain mush and stepped out of the ring of the Knights' path.

"Spirits Unite!" they all called. Each knight glow a bright different color as waves of energy flowed into their weapons. The action stopped moments later and Salleem was beginning to put himself back together.

"Execute!" Shynobi threw what now was a giant star of over twenty feet in diameter. Hirarii followed as a giant phoenix flew out of her sword as she waved it, merging with the revolving star. Dolob shot a single glowing arrow that emerged as a vigorous wolf, adding to the combination to create a star with an image of a pouncing wolf with wings. Lastly, Keturah unleashed a whirling green and red combination of fire and poison from her wand that added as flares on the massive attack. Their attack directly hit Salleem before he could regenerate and did not end there. It continued to grow as an extensive attack and soon the knights were controlling the attack with their bare minds.

They were at the point where they couldn't take it any longer. Shynobi was the first to let go and after that they all followed, dropping to the ground. The Great Five emerged from their hiding spot to assist the knights. There was no sign of Salleem or a single spot of the slimy substance he was made up of. The knights were incapable of fighting. Shynobi and Keturah were unconscious, Dolob was internally burning with pain, and Hirarii was paralyzed.

Assuming that Salleem was gone for good, they rushed back to the palace without even celebrating. Starlightzz, being a powerful cleric, healed all of them steadily for hours. Even after wakening up and being healed, all the knights were too tired to move, literally. They were all lying in a vacant bedroom, bored.

"Dolob, please change the channel," Shynobi moaned. The TV screen filmed little lemurs hunting for food as Dolob watched with little effort.

"I would give you the remote but I can't even move my hand," Dolob glared.

"Move it?" Shynobi asked. "I can't even feel mine!"

"At least you both can physically move it, sheesh," Hirarii interrupted. She was still paralyzed up to her shoulder but was thankful enough that she could speak.

"Can you all shut up?" Keturah yelled. "Maybe if you all tried to sleep like me then you'd get better faster." She rolled on her bed and faced the wall. Dolob gave up, left the TV running since it made him sleepy anyways, and fell asleep too.

"Still awake, Hirarii?" Shynobi asked.

"Of course," she replied bluntly.

"Do you think Salleem's really gone?" Hirarii took a long pause before replying.

"No," she answered. "He's not in heaven yet."

**Episode 11 New Enemy**

The night had not yet struck midnight. Gradually, the sleepless Shynobi began to feel his strength return as Hirarii could move her muscles again. The majority of the residents in the house were asleep except for Korwyn, who usually stayed up late, and Suuushi, who found it best to concentrate at night. Korwyn was silently watching the news in the living room while Suuushi sat a few feet away reading a thick novel. They too thought that something was left uncompleted that still night.

A sudden shiver went down Hirarii's spine. Shynobi noticed her abrupt twitch.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "Did you feel something again?" Shynobi did the have the special sense that some of the knights possessed.

"No, I'm just cold," Hirarii lied, but Shynobi believed her. She pretended to fall asleep, hiding most of her body under the covers and facing the wall. Something wasn't right. The shiver she felt continued at random intervals. It was not a normal feeling either.

"Hirarii, you're shaking a lot," Shynobi finally stated.

"It's probably just a side effect from being paralyzed too long," she lied again. This time her voice was unstable and Shynobi didn't fall for it. He got up from his bed and walked towards Hirarii.

"I'll do my best to heal you," Shynobi volunteered. "Maybe you'll stop shaking then." Not wanting to wake up Keturah for help, he slowly warmed up his healing skill until it glow bright blue and placed his hand on Hirarii's forehead. It helped her calm down and the shaking did stop.

"Thanks," Hirarii sighed, feeling relieved. Whatever she was feeling was gone now, but why was it so strong before? There was a small knock on the glass window leading out to a balcony. Hirarii had her back faced to it and didn't see the strange girl standing on the other side of the glass.

"Huh, I wonder if she's lost," Shynobi thought. The girl was calm; she looked innocent and patient but at the same time more happy than scared from being lost. Shynobi was about to slid the door open to ask for what she needed.

"Are you looking for something?" Shynobi asked through the clear glass before unlocking the door.

"Yes, and I found it too," she said cheerfully. Shynobi was unsure of what to do next. Did she need directions to go home then? The girl was probably no younger than Hirarii who was nineteen, but she acted as if she was still sixteen and clueless.

"It's right here," she continued and pointed directly at Shynobi. Hirarii suddenly jolted after her phrase.

"Shynobi, get away from the window!" she yelled and sprinted towards him. Pressure banged against the glass door, and then shattered into pieces lying all over the ground and even against walls. Hirarii grabbed Shynobi just in time, who wasn't able to react fast enough, and used her power guard ability to create a shield surrounding them and the interior of the room. Dolob and Keturah woke up instantly. The shield had covered them so they had more time to react to the sudden challenge. Hirarii couldn't hold the guard for very long because she was still weak and the force was abnormally powerful for a small glass explosion. As she released the shield, Hirarii and Shynobi rolled onto the bladed floor. Dolob and Keturah stood in front to protect them against the new mysterious person on the balcony.

"What do you want?" Dolob sneered.

"I want the things that I'm looking for," she continued in her cheery voice.

"What things exactly?"

"Why, your souls of course. You all would make excellent servants!" They all glared at her response. She seemed too innocent to be an enemy, and they didn't even know who she was.

"I think I'll take you first. I've never seen such a fierce bowmen in hundreds of years," she stated, observing Dolob.

"Sorry, none of us are for sale," Keturah sneered and prepared to attack. She had caught Keturah's throat before she could generate an energy ball from her hand and lifted her up.

"Leave the Berian alone," Hirarii growled.

_Berian?_, they all thought.

"Are you still unsatisfied after all these years, Lord Urajji?" she continued.

"Oh, it's you," Urajji blinked. She dropped Keturah and walked up to Hirarii. "Why did you pick such a weak girl this time? She couldn't even stand a little explosion from a tiny glass window." Urajji played around with Hirarii's hair, and then gave her a light shove.

"Watch it," Shynobi growled from behind Hirarii and held onto Hirarii's shoulders in case she did anything else. Hirarii seemed to have spaced out. The one thing the knights noticed was that Hirarii's eyes were now a hot magenta color, brighter than her hair's, instead of her usual deep purple.

"These people have nothing to do with us," Hirarii continued. "Lord Urajji, if you cannot settle your childish games up to this point, I'm afraid I don't have much of a choice to give you anymore."

"Your Highness," Urajji replied gently. "You would've finished me off a long time ago if only you could."

"You question my capabilities?" Hirarii glared. She took her Raven's Wing from the side of her bed and then raised it to Urajji's throat.

"You don't have a human body to protect yourself now," Hirarii declared. "Your treatment towards many civilians in the past and also using the boy, Salleem, as your servant is unforgiveable. I will bring him to where he needs to be, but I guarantee you that you will not arrive at the same place."

"I too will guarantee you that this will be the last time you will be able to reincarnate back into this world," Urajji threatened. They exchanged glares for a long time. The knights did not want to interfere with what was happening. Then Hirarii took the first hit, pushing them both out of the broken window and onto the courtyard before the knights could even blink. Many footsteps were gradually getting louder from the main door. Korwyn slammed open the door with Suuushi behind him.

"What happened in here?" he demanded. He was more concerned about what caused the explosion rather than about the mess it made.

"There's a girl that broke in," Dolob pointed out the balcony. They ran outside to check the battle. They were moving so fast that you could only hear the noise that the two swords made when they clashed and the occasional sparks that flew from the impact. Korwyn and Suuushi looked closer.

"Is that Hirarii fighting?"' Suuushi asked. They nodded.

"We'll end this conflict," Korwyn stated. "You guys just get some more rest." Korwyn and Suuushi leaped off from the balcony and entered the invisible battle. The knights could not rest from all the tension and instead watched the battle from above.

**Episode 13 The Cygnus Empress**

Korwyn and Suuushi attacked the intruder forcefully away from Hirarii. Urajji and Hirarii had already received cut wounds from each other. Unlike Salleem, Urajji was living with full flesh, or so it seemed. She bled normal red blood and didn't seem to have anything special besides being a very fast Night Lord. Urajji had no interest in fighting Korwyn or Suuushi, but they did not let her glide toward Hirarii's direction. Suuushi's stars had hit her lower limbs, making her unable to avoid Korwyn's dragon spear ability. Urajji gave up, took another quick glance at Hirarii, and then fled.

"You shouldn't be fighting in your condition," Suuushi told Hirarii. "You could've held some defensive attacks until we came."

"Who exactly are 'we'?" Hirarii asked in a powerful yet polite tone. Korwyn and Suuushi blinked in confusion.

"Maybe she has amnesia," Korywn analyzed.

"The one you call Hirarii is not here right now," she responded. "But I assure you that she is still safe under my protection and I will do no harm to her body."

"Then…who are you?" Korwyn asked.

"I am the Cygnus Empress," she declared. "I'm here to stop Lord Urajji from continuing her ruling of darkness. If I may, I want to speak to your king."

Judging from her use of language, she did not seem to be from this time period. Previously, Urajji had mentioned that the Empress had reincarnated again, and this time Hirarii seemed to be the victim. None of them, not even the knights, knew who the Cygnus Empress was. They only hoped that Fangblade had a clue to what was going on.

"Lord Fangblade," Korwyn spoke. "There's someone that wants to see you."

"Hirarii?" Fangblade asked confused, seeing her standing behind Korwyn.

"Actually, she claims to be the Cygnus Empress." Fangblade flinched. He took a deep breath, stared into Hirarii's eyes, noticed the difference, and kneeled in front of her. Everyone was shocked; the most powerful Lord was bowing to someone else.

"It is an honor to meet you, Your Highness," Fangblade spoke.

"As the King, I assume that you know of me," she responded.

"I'd prefer if you did not refer to me as a King," Fangblade objected. "I am simply just a leader. More importantly, what is Her Highness doing back in the mortal world?"

"You know the reason already, but I have come to put a full end to this issue before it consumes all that's left in this world. Do you have knights to serve you?"

"Yes, they're all standing behind you." The Empress turned around to see Shynobi, Dolob and Keturah, all extremely tired and yawning.

"This is all you have?" she blinked.

"And the one you're currently possessing," Fangblade added. "We lost half of them in a previous battle." The Empress stared at them again, feeling a little sympathy knowing that it must have been extremely tough and exhausting for the past couple of months.

"We also have the Great Five and other heroes on our side, Your Highness," Fangblade gestured towards Korwyn and Suuushi, knowing that she was thinking that they did not have enough people to fight.

"That's good enough," the Empress sighed. "When do you plan on attacking?"

"I was hoping to wait until the knights can be at their full strength again."

"A reasonable action," she observed, drawing her finger across a bleeding wound on her arm. "Do you have a strong cleric?"

"Yes, my wife is the best cleric in the world." Starlightzz was in the same room, overheard the conversation and instantly popped up next to him.

"Is there something you need, Your Highness?" Starlightzz asked with her head lowered, pretending to know who she was.

"I think this body needs some treatment before I return it," she stated. She knew Hirarii wouldn't have been able to take the extra damage done to her body. "And perhaps you should consider some neopendeath honey. They will help your knights heal faster."

"Yes, Your Highness," Starlightzz replied and began sealing up all the new wounds. A couple minutes passed until Starlightzz healed every wound inflicted during the battle with Urajji. The Empress gently ran her smooth hand across the scars feeling satisfied, and then left without another word. Hirarii was so dizzy that she couldn't stand on her feet, and fell on her knees.

"Well, this explains a lot," Fangblade sighed in relief from all the tension.

"Who exactly is the Cygnus Empress?" Suuushi asked.

"The Cygnus Empress is basically our God," Fangblade recalled. "This world was created by her and protected by her. Our religion even comes from her, but so few accept her existence now that she has been long forgotten. I only know because I found an old book that had the theory that the Cygnus Empress always returned to the Maple World and if she was not satisfied, she would destroy everything that she is not pleased with."

"That came from the research about the great power?" Korwyn asked.

"Yes," Fangblade stated. "And it seems that it has been proven true; the power is rare and so extreme because the power is the Cygnus Empress herself."

"But she doesn't want to destroy everything," Hirarii objected, still on her knees. Although she was not in control of her body in the presence of the Cygnus Empress, she was still experiencing the same moments on the inside. "She just wants to stop Urajji."

"I believe what he means is that the Empress would do anything to stop her," Starlightzz replied. "Even if it means killing all of us, especially you Hirarii." Fangblade nodded.

"But we don't have a choice," Fangblade sighed. "We would face the same consequences of we don't obey her."

The Cygnus Empress was generous and gave the knights a full week to heal. Urajji had no activities during that time and the Empress also remained idol. Sometimes she would pop into Hirarii's mind and ask her random questions, but she kept that to herself.

_What do you fight for?,_ The Empress asked once. Hirarii was fixing her hair in the mirror one morning.

"For the safety of others," Hirarii replied out loud.

_But what do you strive for?_, she asked again. _Do you wish to become as powerful as your Lord?_

"I only live to serve him."

_If he died, what would you do?_ Hirarii never bothered to consider that question and didn't respond. She walked out of her room to the assigned meeting place. They were going to ambush Urajji that day. All the knights were present and so were a few of the Great Five. Under the Cygnus Empress' orders, everyone would go in and fight for hopefully the last time concerning the darkness that has been consuming the world.

"Your Highness," Hirarii whispered after she arrived and smiling to the others. She was listening. "I would die in his place." The Empress smiled.

_Good Answer_, she replied before taking over her body again to assemble the battle line.

**Episode 14 Final Battle Part 3**

The Cygnus Empress had asked Urajji to show up that day outside of Ellinia, the impressive city built within tall trees and filled with many fairies and mysterious findings. Urajji kindly showed up right on time, expecting the numerous amounts of opponents. The Cygnus Empress and Lord Urajji were fair people, probably an old tradition in their time. They respectfully bowed to each other before beginning their battle and exchanged final words.

"Let me tell you Your Highness," Urajji began. "I'm not any more vulnerable just because I'm human again, and that doesn't mean I'm easy to kill either."

"But you are not immortal," the Empress stated. "You will be at rest when we are through."

"I won't hold back," Urajji teased.

"I don't expect you to." A kunai flew towards her head not a second later. The Empress had her power guard shield on unknowingly, making the kunai bounce off the invisible wall. They began their fight, first in solo. When she needed assistance, she would call up groups just like Fangblade had assigned before.

Although Hirarii's best job was that of a warrior's, the Empress concentrated on magic attacks because she was previously a magician. There was no struggle because the Empress was a master of every job. Urajji was only a master in thievery, but she fought just as well. In fact, Urajji was stronger than the Empress. She had darkness on her side.

The knights and the brothers were called in, and together they fought, thinking that their final weapon should be restricted until last resort. Eventually everyone was elicited to join the fight. They were doing well until they forgot about one of a thief's most powerful weapons: the meso bomb. They were too late to stop it, and only the thieves could protect themselves with dark sight. The explosion shook with a huge magnitude, causing many trees in the forest to collapse. Only Suuushi, Shynobi and the Empress remained unhurt. The Great Five combined defensive attacks to protect each other but the explosion broke their shield easily. Dolob and Keturah were partially protected, but their experience with using dark sight was very modicum. Yae, Ran, and Tiger took the most damage with nearly nothing protecting them.

Korwyn, Novinha and Keturah were trapped beneath the thick pile of trees. Curryishott and Suuushi took time to rescue them as the rest, who were still capable of fighting, took on Urajji. Shynobi threw stars, the Empress casted a giant thunderbolt and Fangblade used his dragon spear ability to attack her. They missed terribly and were ambushed from behind.

Once again, there was no sign of winning the battle, but the Empress did not allow them to quit. Yae had been severely injured from the meso bomb, and all three had suffered broken bone injures from being squashed beneath trees. Starlightzz pulled to the side to heal them and Ran stood by as a guard. There were only six left who were still fighting one enemy, less than same amount of Fangblade's original Celestial Knights.

Urajji had a secret special ability that enabled her to throw three stars at once containing a massive amount of shock that would be critical to the person who got hit. However, it could only be used for a limited amount of time because it drained out so much energy. Regardless, she decided to use it twice to hit all six opponents. None of them saw it coming and it was harder to repeal compared to a normal kunai. Curryishott got hit on his forearm, but one repealed off of Fangblade's steel mask. Dolob canceled out the attack with a soul arrow and Shynobi attempted to catch it with his bare hand, having no other defensive strategy in that short amount of time. Not wanting to damage his dominant hand, he caught it with his left, but he was still hurt from the kunai's special effect. The Empress could not stop the kunai that aimed for her. She made a quick dodge from it, but it was heat censored and followed her every move. Tiger carefully pierced the kunai right in half before it reached his face, splitting it cleanly into two pieces. He saw the Empress still trying to avoid the kunai and went to help as Fangblade quickly assisted Curryishott and Dolob with Shynobi.

The Empress could not outrun the kunai fast enough to turn around and attack. She hoped that it would get caught eventually in a tree. Running forever was better than being hit by its majestic shock effect. She ran in circles, and unknowingly ended up back to the center of the battlefield where Urajji was watching, feeling appeased. On purpose, she made the Empress slower by attacking her at the same time with regular kunais. She avoided them all, but the heat-censored kunai was just a few feet away and now she had no choice but to accept it.

Tiger jumped in unexpectedly in front of the Empress, but he could not do anything either because there was not enough time to react. Instead, he took the hit directly as it sunk deep into the lower part of his rib cage.

"I owe you one," Tiger stated before she could question his action. The Empress was stunned. Not knowing what to do, Hirarii retook control of the body temporarily.

"Tiger," Hirarii whispered as she wrapped her arms around him. "I can't lose anyone else, not again…" Her right hand, being closest to the wound, glow light blue as she attempted to heal him immediately. He took her hand off, wanting her to save the energy for fighting.

"I've done all that I ever wanted to do," Tiger smiled. "I couldn't possibly be more than the Dragon Knight of Scania, but you still have a bright future ahead of you. Please continue to strive for that, Hirarii." Hirarii couldn't help but cry and clench onto him tighter.

"Why are you giving up so easily?" Hirarii questioned. "It's not over yet, we can still win."

"Then prove it to me before I go," Tiger joked. "I wouldn't mind dying if I knew the world was safe once again."

_We must continue_, the Empress reminded her. Hirarii agreed, taking one last look at Tiger, setting him aside with Starlightzz, and then sprinted back towards Urajji. Fangblade had to solo her for some time but managed to keep up while Dolob slightly healed Curryishott and Shynobi, enough to stay in the battle. Hirarii grew with anger, and the Empress understood and accepted her rage. She allowed Hirarii to fight the battle without her help because she was capable of exposing the power on her own. The Empress just hoped that she would her mind focus because revenge increases vulnerability.


	3. Episode 14 and 15 Finale

**Episode 14 Final Battle part 4**

Hirarii rushed in the battle, siding with her master respectfully. She was so angry that she hogged up most of the attacks.

"Hirarii, don't give into pressure," Fangblade warned. "That's just what she wants you to do. Tiger and the others will be alright."

"A soul is an irreplaceable object and is the one thing everyone should be able to treasure and protect in their life," Hirarii stated. "Has _the_ Fangblade already forgotten that?" For the first time in many years, she did not address him as, My Lord. Because of that, Fangblade could tell she was very serious. It's true; he had told her many years ago about the purpose of fighting, the exact same definition, before she became a knight. He allowed her to continue fighting carelessly and slowly withdrew.

Urajji has caused so many deaths over the centuries. In the beginning, she was of royalty and best friends with the Empress. Later, she led a rebellion against the Cygnus Empress causing the first Civil War. There were over forty million casualties and because of that the Cygnus Empress ordered her to be executed immediately. However, Urajji had turned immortal because she had a pact with the demon already. Instead, she was imprisoned beneath the earth up to this day. Over time, she was able to control some people in the living world to take over her evil duties, including Salleem. Hirarii could not forgive that.

She had killed Salleem in the first place; he did not commit suicide as most people had thought. Then she moved on to Loopedd, NeoJunker, and then Heroine. Now she has almost every hero in this world on the palm of her hands, waiting to be squished and crumbled. If Hirarii could only puncture her like a needle, the hand would surely let go. Urajji was no longer immortal since the contract was too long ago and because she was now walking on earth. (The magic that sealed her below the earth protected her immortality) That was the only reassuring fact that everyone knew.

But it was true that Hirarii's anger had made her vulnerable. Urajji attacked through those small openings Hirarii left between moves, piercing through her clavicle leaving Hirarii's arm immobile and making her unable to withdraw from their close distance.

"Goodbye Your Highness," Urajji smiled. Hirarii sighed in relief.

"I'm taking you with me," both the Empress and Hirarii responded. Then Urajji noticed that she couldn't shift her feet to make the next move. She looked down and saw that steel arrows had nailed her feet to the ground. Urajji growled in frustration while Dolob gently pulled back his bow, ready for another attack. She tried to free herself but Hirarii restrained her tightly using the knight's forbidden power. Although it was hard to control, the Empress had helped her magnify its power and relieved her of some stress.

"Shynobi," Hirarii whispered.

"But you're going to…" Shynobi objected, not finishing his sentence.

"Hirarii, what do you think you're doing?" Fangblade roared from far away. "Get out of there immediately!"

"Doing what I sore to do," Hirarii stated.

"What we all swore to do," a voice corrected. Everyone stared at the many figures immerging by her side, all restricting Urajji.

"Loopedd," Fangblade said astonished.

"The first moment I stepped into Bera, I knew my life was going to change," Loopedd continued. "But what difference did it make? I was still protecting Broa and I knew it would be an honor to dedicate the rest of my life into doing it."

"A road is never straight," the next figure added. "And there are times when sacrifices need to be made. Please do not mourn for our deaths. We will always be happy when we see you smile."

"Heroine," Dolob swallowed. "I love you so much; we all do." Heroine smiled at him and that had always made Dolob the happiest.

"We all miss you guys too," NeoJunker replied. "But we don't have much time. We have to end this right now." Keturah yelled from far away.

"Honey, please don't go," Keturah wailed. She tried to get up and sprint towards him but her leg was still fractured and fell, moving only a few feet.

"We're never gone, babe," NeoJunker smiled.

"As long as you still remember us," Loopedd spoke.

"We're always in your heart," Heroine added.

"And we'll always be there for you," Salleem concluded. Tiger smiled at his long lost cousin.

"Do it now," Hirarii reminded him. As much as she was enjoying their short reunion, her energy was still constantly being drained holding down Urajji. Shynobi looked at Fangblade for advice. He sighed, and nodded regretfully. Everyone else prepared to make a run for it.

"It has been a great honor fighting beside you, Hirarii," Shynobi stated proudly. Dolob clenched his fist, holding back the tears, and then swiftly ran across them, throwing down many bags of mesos. Fangblade followed him outside of the imaginary battle circle, carried the injured comrades and fled.

_I too give all my respect to you, young warrior_, the Empress spoke in her mind. _Thank you. Now the world may finally rest in peace._

"See ya around, Shynobi," Hirarii smiled.

"Yea, see ya," Shynobi frowned, closed his eyes and then pulled the trigger. A huge explosion was unleashed, over seven times larger than Urajji's meso bomb and could've destroyed all of Ellinia. Shynobi quickly used dark sight to protect himself, but he saw no sign of life existing through the dense smoke as the fire rapidly scorched the trees around him. He then slowly put out every single fire in the forest using his limited magician powers since he was in no mood to return home immediately. In the sky, he saw small clear sparkles that reflected from the sunlight swirling happily and freely. He thought he could hear its voice, but concluded that he was just dreaming and left once he lost sight of it.

_Finally it is over,_ Urajji smiled, soaring carelessly with the wind. _Can I get that omok rematch with you now? _

_You will definitely enjoy it up here, my friend_, the Empress laughed trying to catch up with her. _Rest forever everyone. _

Behind them were the knights gently teasing each other. Together they followed the Empress, rose higher in the sky, and then disappeared in the sunlight.

**Episode 15 New Dawn **

A week had passed and everyone was nearly fully healed. The darkness that once covered half of Bera and all of the rest of the world, especially Broa and Scania, had disappeared without a trace. The Great Five was ready to leave Fangblade's mansion towards home and so were the rest of the young heroes. However, many of the world's largest committees had arranged a celebration and invited all of them as special guests in their upcoming parade.

They stood on many layers of a float and waved to the Maplians all over the world as they cheered and screamed their name. Many people had traveled long distances just to see their favorite heroes. The heroes, however, were only content.

"It's not as lively here as it used to be," Tiger observed.

"With half of the knights sacrificed and over thirty million casualties worldwide, no one should feel very lively," Suuushi sighed. On occasional sightings, there would be small groups of people supporting the lost knights, holding up signs and chanting their names. The knights were still sulking from the battle. Seeing everyone there for the last time, saying their final words, had really touched their hearts and left unforgivable memories.

"Either way, Tiger," Fangblade spoke, tried to lighten up the mood. "You were going to steal my knight anyways."

"Huh?" Tiger blinked. "What do you mean_, My Lord_?"

"Don't think that I don't know what you've been up to since you came here," Fangblade joked. "It's not normal to be chasing after the same person everyday all the time." Then Tiger thinks he knows what Fangblade was talking about and said nothing. For a short time he felt embarrassed, but then became upset again.

"She would've never left your side, Fang," Tiger responded.

"Heh, I know," Fangblade smirked. "She was always that stubborn. But seriously now, I wouldn't have mind at all if you took her back with you. After all, she needs a new life. She doesn't need to be around me anymore. I was hoping you could do that for me, Tiger."

"I bet everyone else is happy too with their new life," Keturah added in their own conversation after overhearing Fangblade.

"I bet they are," Shynobi agreed. "That day, I saw something in the sky, and I think they were all having fun and laughing happily together."

"Hey I'm just wondering," Dolob changed the topic. "Does this mean Fangblade will begin recruiting new knights again?"

"Most likely," Shynobi sighed. If so, he would be the only one that lasted through all three generations of Fangblade's knights. As much as he loved that, it was tough remembering all his fallen comrades throughout the years and knowing that the new knights will face the same fate.

Their float had stopped temporarily as the dancers in front of them did their performance. A road is never straight and sometimes when one hits those bumps sacrifices have to be made. Heroine spoke those words with its true meaning and now the knights had experienced it face-to-face. In the end, no matter how many obstacles are on the path, just seeing a new dawn rise from the endless road is enough to keep one moving forward.

"Lord Fangblade," a person called out from his earphone. There was heavy static and lots of panicking in the background. "There's an intruder heading your way. We can't tell what exactly, it's moving too fast and is cutting off our-"

The connection was cut off. From the distance, they could see guard in the crowd trying to search for the intruder. The crowd seemed to ignore them and continued to enjoy the show.

"Shouldn't we be concerned?" Curryishott asked.

"This person must be an idiot to attack when the strongest people in the world are present," Novinha smirked.

"No, it's not exactly an intruder," Fangblade thought out loud. He was quickly calculating the speed of the intruder in his head and knew that only a few beings can move that fast. A figure emerged from a small shaded spot on the float and the knights saw it first. Although they attacked it immediately, they missed and it ran off towards the Great Five. They sadly missed too, and it charged straight towards Fangblade. Fangblade chuckled, catching the intruder in mid air effortlessly and then did a backdrop. The intruder smiled, got up and brushed its clothing. She had on a black cloak that concealed her entire face and body. Fangblade was secretly shocked that his prediction of who the intruder is was correct. However, he showed no signs of shock, just relief.

"The security is weak," she stated. "But I can still never get you."

"Or you're just too strong," Fangblade laughed. "Not bad. You've really grown." He walked up to her and gave her a hug.

"I learned from the best, My Lord." Fangblade ignored the compliment.

"Welcome home, Hirarii."

Fangblade turned around towards the rest of the audience who were now all staring at him. The dancers had stopped, the music was paused, and security guards circled their float. The crowd whispered loudly, wondering what was happening. Fangblade took her hand and raised it towards the sky. She slowly and gently removed her hood with her other hand, revealing her identity.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Fangblade yelled. "Hirarii, the Hero of Bera, the Third Knight, our savior, has returned!" The crowd roared with excitement. The news reports had already claimed her dead, shocking the majority of the audience at the parade and even news reporters. The knights ran towards her and had a huge group hug.

"You're alive!" Keturah squealed.

"But how in the world did you survive?" Dolob asked. Hirarii first asked for some air before answering. They released her a little bit, but still not letting go.

"The Empress told me to keep living," Hirarii began. "Right before the explosion, she suddenly used all of her power to create a shield around my body which protected me for a short while, and basically killed the Empress herself, also destroying her reincarnation cycle. Sadly, I was blasted so far away that I was hopelessly lost until I saw Mar the Fairy who told me stay where I was until I was fully healed. I didn't have much of a choice because I fell unconscious right after that for several days and Mar aided me up until this morning." The knights were barely paying attention to her story because they were so overjoyed by her appearance. Hirarii decided to change the topic so that she could be released from the hug.

"Oh, by the way Shynobi," Hirarii started. "NeoJunker asked me to tell you to give Keturah that silver swan ring." Shynobi froze. He was the only one who knew about that and hid it somewhere else. (Refer to episode 8)

"What is this about a ring?" Keturah glared.

"Um," Shynobi stumbled, trying to cover up his innocence. "Don't worry I know where it is. I'll give it to you when we get back."

When they returned to the mansion, Shynobi showed Keturah the engagement ring he had found in NeoJunker's room. She happily placed it on her finger which had fit perfectly and never took it off. Dolob was casually watching TV in the living room, surfing for channels that didn't involve breaking news about Hirarii's return. The Great Five scattered and went back to their homes. Tiger and Suuushi were planning to leave that evening.

In Fangblade's room, he was giving Yae and Ran honorable badges which now made them to be recognized as honorable heroes. Hirarii entered the room and had a chat with Fangblade as the brothers scurried away finding something else to do before they leave.

"Listen Hirarii," Fangblade began. "You know I'll be searching for more knights now and the order will have to be rearranged."

"Yes, just like last time," Hirarii remembered years ago when all his knights ceased except Shynobi and NeoJunker.

"But you're not going to become the Second Knight," Fangblade stated bluntly. Hirarii objected quickly.

"Look Hirarii, I can't babysit you anymore," Fangblade continued. "You're better than just a knight and you can walk on your own path now." Hirarii honestly never considered a life outside of serving Fangblade until the Empress had mentioned the same situation. She still gave no thought to it ever since. What could anyone with her power do except protect the world under the most powerful person?

"Maybe you could consider immigrating to Scania," Fangblade suggested. "Then you could be with the person you love." Hirarii flinched for Fangblade had hit her weak spot. No one was supposed to know about Hirarii's crush. She considered it immoral for her to love someone higher than her rank.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of," Fangblade spoke as if reading her mind again.

"But Bera is my home," Hirarii sighed. "And I can't leave your side."

"If you refuse Hirarii, I'll have to make it an order." As much as Hirarii wanted to be with the one she loved, she couldn't throw away the years she spent with her lovable friends.

"As long as I can come back," Hirarii gave in. "I'll go."

"That's great," Tiger smiled and jumped down from one of the ceiling beams. "Then I'll have your throne prepared immediately."

"Tiger!?" Hirarii jumped. "How long were you eavesdropping?"

"Pretty much the whole time," he replied innocently.

"And what is this about a throne?" she glared.

"Well, I think the world's biggest hero would need a big place to stay in," Tiger smirked. "Like my house." Hirarii was prepared to strangle him for his sarcasm. She wouldn't have mind staying in his house, but it wasn't big at all. Compared to Fangblade's place, the Scanian mansion was only one-fifth of it.

"He's trying to ask you for marriage Hirarii," Fangblade coughed from the side. "I know; he's doing a poor job of it." Tiger slapped his face.

"Are you trying to screw this up?" Tiger yelled.

"So you really are?" Hirarii asked.

"No no no no, not like that," Tiger stumbled. "It's more like asking…you…erm…if you want to start a new life with me. As in I'll help you get adapted to Scania and…"

"Fine, I'll be your girlfriend," Hirarii figured. Tiger grinned in embarrassment and stopped improvising. Fangblade was relieved as well. He knew that both of them loved each other for many years but their secrecy soon became unbearable so he decided to take action. Getting Tiger to speak up for himself and Hirarii to ignore her duties for once were a few of the most difficult things Fangblade ever had to go through and he wouldn't have been able to do it without Starlightzz's plan. Luckily her plan worked, but the new couple was uneasy around each other and took a while to bond.

That evening, Fangblade redubbed his knights. Shynobi was still the First Knight, but Dolob had become the Second Knight and Keturah the Third Knight. Then as Yae and Ran departed back to Broa, Hirarii, Tiger, and Suuushi waved goodbye and jumped into the sacred vortex for their trip back to Scania. In Broa, Korwyn had asked the Paladin and Arch Mage to serve as knights (Fangblade's interpretation of knights are different) and they eagerly accepted. Hirarii did sent messages back to the knights in Bera very often. From what the knights had read, she became known as the Princess of Scania because she was only one rank below Curryishott, making her the second most powerful being in Scania. A year later, news had spread that Tiger and Hirarii were getting married and Curryishott was prepared to step down before them if they did.

A new generation of knights was born.

A new love was formed.

Old comrades rested peacefully.

And the Maple world, from that point on, slept beautifully for many years.

Yae and Ran wandered in circles in the quiet town of Nautilus and poked helpless snails to death during their stroll. They had no goal and were just looking for a way to kill some time.

"Hey, guess what," Ran spoke.

"What?" Yae yawned. Ran stood next to a small pond formed along the corner of a wall.

"This is exactly where it began," Ran observed.

"Yea, but don't' think Korwyn will pop out of there a second time," he teased. Two beginners walked passed them and nearly fell into the pond because they weren't looking, but then got back up and walked casually away. Yae snickered.

"Don't laugh at the noobs," Ran sighed. "You were once one of them."

"But at least I didn't almost fall straight into a pond."

"No, but you did once get mobbed by snails," Ran pointed out. At that time, Yae ran screaming for at least a half a mile before the snails were too far away to see and to pose any danger. Yae rolled his eyes and poked another random snail that was crawling by and it died instantly.

"That noob could grow up to be just as strong as you, or even stronger," Ran stated incase his brother did not get the message.

"I know, but what are the chances?"

"Anything can happen. Korwyn could jump right out of there any minute and recruit them to be knights just like us a year ago."

"History does love to repeat," Yae admitted. With every ending, there's a new beginning, and they were really looking forward to their new future as honorable knights. Although many of them now resided thousands of miles away, they all hoped for the best in the future for everyone. A new dawn does not mean that the road behind should be forgotten, but rather it should be embraced in our hearts to carry throughout the rest of the journey.

Their cell phones abruptly rang while they were lost in their thoughts. Korwyn had asked them to stop an angry mob of wild pigs that were chasing noobs near their area.

"This will be so easy," Yae winked. Then they both sprinted towards Heneseys to accomplish their first assignment.

_**THE END**_


End file.
